The Tavern
by roxy cartwright
Summary: When Zora arrived at the tavern, she had no idea of what was in store for her. A slightly twisted tale of an elf named Zora, a thief and her accomplices, and how their dark pasts are entwined. Reviews please!
1. Arriving At The Tavern

"Finally, here at last!" Zora was an elf. She was also a user of magic. If you are one who doesn't have time for adventures, magic, and creatures never seen by the human eye, I am going to stop you right here. Put this book down and walk away. This story is not for you. Still here, I see. Good. Every book should be read. Now, back to Zora's tale.

Zora put up the shielding spell. It was raining cats and dogs. Unfortunately, the spell did nothing for the wind and she was already drenched to the bone. Zora entered the tavern where she was staying. She climbed all of the stairs to room 332. Once there, her pet fox, Moony, brought Zora her room key.

Zora heard movement inside. She whipped out her wand and barreled inside. "HEY!" she bellowed. Someone, a girl, was lifting her trunk. The thief was standing on the window ledge. Zora shot a stunning spell at her, but it ricocheted off and hit the young elf instead!

Just as the girl was jumping out the window with all of the young elf's possessions, Zora broke free of her own spell. She too sprang out of the window. As soon as she jumped, a terror stricken thought passed over her like a wave. Just then she realized that she was three stories up. The thief below her landed gracefully like a bird and took off with the trunk… floating in front of her? "But…but where's her wand?" thought Zora "That's impossible!" Zora magically summoned a trampoline to fall on.

After she had been running a while, she was about ready to give up. After teleporting back to the tavern, she saw the thief in the lobby! Zora's voice got caught in her throat. The girl winked at an elf coming out of the bar. He winked back and gave a small smile to Zora. Her stomach squirmed. This happened once more with another, slightly older, elf who, instead of a smile, gave Zora a nasty glare. She was slightly taken aback by this. The most surprising thing was when they hooked Zora by the elbows and dragged her outside!

Just then, she was hit in the back of the head by something large and heavy. Zora saw stars, and then everything just fell.


	2. The Jail Cell

When Zora woke up, she was in a jail cell. She had a throbbing headache. Zora looked around, and then looked down. What she saw terrified her more than ever. "Having fun?" said a voice from behind her. Zora swirled around and saw… herself? Then she realized what had happened. Moony was trapped in a cage in the corner of the room. The thief, who now looked like her, was twirling Zora's wand like a professional. "You see, "she continued "I have been wanted for a LONG time. I thought, for all of your troubles, I would give you a nice place to stay for a while. Actually, a life sentence, in fact."

"What have you done?!" hissed Zora. She was now the thief. She wasn't the thief, but she LOOKED like her.

"Oh, just a bit of switching, that's all."

"Well, I think we've kept her long enough." said a voice from the shadows "do what you want, just don't kill her. We need a northern elf, **_remember_**?"

"Yeah, yeah." Said the thief, a wave of disappointment passing over her face. "Just a little torture, that's all. I promise." She grumbled. The figure stepped out of a door and out of sight. She was replaced by two more figures, which Zora recognized as the two eastern elves that dragged her out of the tavern. "Oliver, you're up first."

"Aww! Why him and not me?" said the elf who had glared at her.

"Because, Kye, you would kill her instantly!" The thief snapped.

Oliver stepped forwards. He was the one who smiled at Zora. He gave her another warm, sweet smile. Zora's stomach flipped again. "Why does that keep happening?" Zora thought. "Because! You like him, you idiot!" snarled another voice in her head. "I am NOT letting you have a relationship with my friend!" It was the thief.

Meanwhile, Oliver was feeling the same. "Do NOT get involved with that elf!" hissed a voice in his ear. Or more, in his head, per say. "And why not?" replied Oliver "Because you will be unloyal! And you know what has happened to all of those unloyal travelers in the past, **_DON'T YOU?_**" That scared Oliver straight. He

inched closer to Zora, now trembling on the floor.

"Sorry about this." He whispered in her ear before pulling out a pocket knife. "I don't want to do this, but I don't really have a choice." Just as he was about to start, the woman who wanted to "save" Zora burst into the room and said, "NO! Come on! We need to leave now! They are coming. We have to go, NOW!" Zora felt something else hit her on the head. Her brain went fuzzy before blacking out once more.


	3. Memories

When she woke, she was galloping on a horse. They were going very fast. Zora noticed that there were Dark Elves firing arrows at them. Kye and Oliver were shooting arrows back at the Dark Elves. Moony was right beside her.

There was a smaller Dark Elf riding on a horse next to her. "Drackith!" Zora shouted angrily.

"Shut up, stupid girl!" Drackith shouted back "You don't want to go out like your family did, do you?" Zora shuddered. Drackith was the one who had led the attack on the Northern Elves many years ago. He was the one who had killed all of her friends and family.

An arrow shot out of the bushes and hit him in the upper arm. A stream of hexes and curses escaped his lips. Just then, the thief was knocked unconscious and flung off the back of her horse. "NOOOO!" Drackith screamed.

A sharp pain shot up Zora's left arm. She looked down and realized that she had been shot with an arrow as well. A female Dark Elf rode up to Drackith and said "We have saved the Princess" She winked and galloped off. Drackith stared after her and nearly crashed into a tree. Zora, being the only one who could understand Dark Elvish, understood immediately, thanks to her extracurricular activity in school.

**_Flashback_**

**_Flames tore through the trees._********_She never told me her real name, only to call her the Forest Princess._********_That's all she went by._********_She always had a little half elf with her, named Drackith._********_They were like siblings._********_Maybe they were, for all I knew._********_She lived in that forest._********_I thought she was dead._********_They said she was killed in the fire._********_I believed them._********_Smoke billowed from out of the deep woods._****_ "_****_Forest Princess!" I screamed desperately._********_If only she was alive, maybe I would have her as a friend._********_I never had anyone else._********_I was alone._********_No one else to play with, my sister and mother were gone two out of three weeks of every month, and my dad was always doing something on his own._********_The fire just grew bigger._********_My pleas were drowned out by the roaring flames._********_I fell back, exhausted._********_I couldn't breathe. A fox trotted out of the fire and laid down next to me._****_ "_****_Forest… Princess… please… ple..." I was light headed._********_That's all I could remember before blacking out with the grey smoke billowing up into the sky above me._**

Zora shuddered at the sudden memory. Could this be her? It was impossible. She was killed in the fire, wasn't she? "Drackith, is that-"

"Yes." He replied briefly. "But she doesn't remember you, she doesn't remember anything."

"That's so sad!"

"Yes, but we are going to fix it."

"So that's why you need me, there is nothing that's coming after us?"

"Nope."

"Good. So where are we going, exactly?"

"Well, probably to the old ne-"

Drackith was stopped short by a twig snapping in the underbrush. Zora glanced up. Full moon. She looked back to the brush. A giant wolf stepped out.

_"__Hello, sis."_


	4. Meeting Zoey

That morning, when Zoey woke, she was magically bound. She let out a whimper. She had changed back already. "Zora?" She whispered in a shaky voice. "Zora, are you there?"

"I'm here, Zoey. Don't worry." Zora replied. Kye and Oliver were still sleeping, but the Princess and Drackith were awake.

"What is this foul creature?" Drackith grumbled. A flash of anger passed over Zoey's face.

"This 'foul creature' is my SISTER!" snapped Zora, drawing her wand. She had got it back after the battle. Moony snarled menacingly.

"Sorry, sorry! I take it back!"

"That's more like it." Zora concluded with a sigh. "Let me explain.

You see, our mother was bitten by a werewolf at a very young age. The disease can travel through blood. Zoey got it, but I didn't get it as bad as she did. Every month, she turns into a fully-fledged monster. I have learned to control mine, let it out only in time of need. It has been building up for a while now, so when I let it out, I could become like my sister is every month. I was always more like dad."

"This means we are close." said Drackith.

"Yea. My hideout is just on top of the old hill. I must have escaped." sighed Zoey. "I knew I should have fixed that window."

After that was silence. The princess kept shooting looks at Zoey, each one saying a different thing. No one was foolish enough to break that silence.


	5. The Burnt Down Forest

When they arrived at the old, burnt down forest, The Princess was mad. Kye started writing on the ground with a burnt, ashy twig.

He drew a circle around the princess and these relics. We all gathered around her in a circle holding hands. Drackith made a small cut on Zora's wrist.

"Ow!" thought Zora, but she was smart enough not to say anything out loud. Drackith grabbed her and dripped blood onto the symbols.

One…

Two…

Three drops on each one. Zora and Drackith retreated back to their spots in the circle.

He bowed his head and set down some plants around the circle. They were a primrose, basil, and a peony. Kye added lilac, a pink rose, and heather. Oliver contributed a blue violet. Zoey laid down a snowdrop and a lemon balm onto the ashen ground. It all came down to Zora. She gave a yellow rose, periwinkle, hyacinth, and a tea rose.

These plants all had meanings.

**Primrose-I can't live without you **

**Basil-best wishes **

**Peony-good health **

**Lilac-first love **

**Pink rose-the glow of your smile **

**Heather-admiration **

**blue violet-faithfulness **

**snowdrop-hope **

**Lemon balm-sympathy**

**yellow rose-friendship **

**periwinkle-happy memory **

**hyacinth-I am sorry, please forgive me **

**tea rose-I will never forget**

Then, Drackith muttered something and there was a great flash of light. When the white glow finally died, The Princess was sprawled on the ground. Zora and Moony ran to the middle of the circle, the rest not far behind. Zora laid her head in her lap and waited.

After a while, her eyes fluttered.

"Z…Zora?" She mumbled. "Where's the fire?"

"Yes! It worked!" shouted Drackith "It really worked! The Forest Princess remembers!"

She smiled. "My name is Kayden"


	6. Epilouge

**Epilogue**

Kayden- Kayden and Kye later married and had three children.

Kye- Kye decided to become better friends with Zora and Zoey and gave up his old, torturing ways.

Drackith- Drackith later gave up his job to spend more time with Kayden. He also apologized worldwide for his reign of terror on the northern elves. Drackith married the Dark Elf that saved Kayden.

Zoey- Zoey spent the rest of her years looking for a cure for Lycanthropy, the condition of being a werewolf. She never fully succeeded, but she created many magical solutions that overall helped.

Oliver- Oliver and Zora later married, having but one child. Oliver took a path similar to Zoey, searching for cures to diseases.

Zora- Zora and Kayden were friends till the grave. Zora went on to become a world famous author, with Moony and Zoey always by her side.


End file.
